EDITORIAL: Trump targets us with 25% tariff on Feb. 1
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U.S. President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell Monday night on the Trudeau government, saying he will likely introduce a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods entering the U.S. on Feb. 1 because Canada has failed to curb the flow of illegal immigration and fentanyl into the U.S.
Answering questions while signing executive orders in his office, Trump said, “We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing vast numbers of people — Canada is a very bad abuser, also — vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in.”
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The announcement was shocking given that earlier in the day Trump did not mention Canada in his inaugural presidential address as a security threat to the U.S., while declaring the situation at the southern U.S. border with Mexico a national emergency.
Trump’s remarks Monday night, delivered casually as he again referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor Trudeau,” contradicted an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal — pointed out to reporters by a Trump administration official on background.
It said Trump would not impose a 25% tariff on Canada immediately, but would await the results of the findings of U.S. federal agencies investigating alleged unfair trading practices by countries such as China, Canada and Mexico, as well as a report on the status of the 2019 Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) that comes up for renegotiation next year.
Trump’s renewed intention to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian products apparently means he was not satisfied with the Trudeau government’s plan to pump $1.3 billion into new Canadian border security measures over six years in hopes of convincing Trump not to launch a trade war against Canada.
It comes at the worst possible time. The Liberals are in the middle of a leadership race to replace Trudeau as party leader and prime minister and with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith opposing any counter-tariff plan by Trudeau and Canada’s 12 other premiers that would put Alberta’s oil and gas sector revenues in the crosshairs.
It suggests that Trump, knowing the internal divisions in Canada over the issue, is seeking to leverage the maximum concessions possible from Canada on trade.
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